Henry Digby was the eldest son of the Honourable and Very Reverend William Digby, Dean of Durham and Chaplain Ordinary to George III.

He was born in Bath on 20 January 1770, and entered the service in 1783 as a midshipman under Admiral Innes on board the Europa (50) bound for the West Indies. He was promoted lieutenant in 1790. In 1795, whilst a lieutenant in the Pallas, he performed valuable service in saving lives when hms Boyne was lost by fire. He was promoted commander in 1795, and in command of the Incendiary sloop, and later the small frigate Aurora, he made several valuable captures in 1796.

He was made post on 19 December 1796, and in 1798 commanded the Leviathan, a Third Rate bearing the broad pennant of Commodore Duckworth, and served at the capture of Minorca, defended by a Spanish garrison of some 3,500 men. They took the island without loss of life, finding at Port Mahon a wealth of naval stores, a brig on the stocks, fourteen gunboats and several merchant vessels.

In 1799, Digby was appointed to the frigate Alcmène, in which he cruised between the coast of Portugal and the Azores, making numerous important captures. Most importantly, on 18 October 1799, in company with the frigates Naiad and Triton, he assisted in the capture of the rich Spanish treasure ship Santa Brigada (36), out of Vera Cruz and bound for Spain carrying a cargo of $1,400,000. Digby’s share of the prize money for all these captures made him a rich man. He remained on the Lisbon and Mediterranean stations until 1801, when he was given command of the large frigate Resistance and moved to North America. On the outward passage in 1801, he captured the French privateer Elizabeth en route from Cayenne to Bordeaux. It proved to be the last vessel taken before the Peace of Amiens. He returned to England on 30 November the same year, and was employed that winter in the Channel searching for smugglers.

At Trafalgar, Digby commanded hms Africa (64). Although one of the smallest battleships present at the action, she played one of the most remarkable and courageous roles in the battle. During the early morning of the 21st, Digby appears to have lost sight of the fleet. When firing commenced, he found himself separated from the rest of the British fleet, and likewise alarmingly close to the Neptuno, the leading ship of the enemy van. Nelson signalled the Africa to make all possible sail, but Digby seems to have interpreted the order – which was intended to take him out of danger – as meaning that he was to engage the enemy more closely. Accordingly, he made his way along the Franco-Spanish line, exchanging broadsides with various ships, until he came up before the massive Santissima Trinidad (130), then already engaged with a number of other British ships. Thinking that she had surrendered, he sent on board his first lieutenant, John Smith, to take possession of her. Smith reached her quarterdeck before realising that she had not surrendered at all. Even so, in those comparatively chivalrous days, the boarding party was permitted to withdraw unmolested.

When the ships of Dumanoir’s squadron finally completed their turn and approached the centre of the battle, the Africa engaged with the French Intrépide (74), and for about forty minutes fought her steadily, until hms Orion arrived on her starboard quarter and assisted in silencing her. The Africa’s masts and yards had been substantially mauled and her rigging and sails cut to pieces; while her hull was seriously damaged, including several holes on the waterline. She had suffered sixty-two casualties, including seven officers.

Digby received the naval gold medal and a sword from the Lloyd’s Patriotic Fund. He was created a CB in 1815, was promoted rear admiral in 1819, vice admiral in 1830 and admiral in 1841. He was advanced to KCB in 1831 and GCB in 1842, and was commander-in-chief at Sheerness in 1840–1. He died at Minterne, Dorset, in 1842 and was buried there.

AJC